is a Japanese

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

. He was associated with Real Japan Pro Wrestling's

Seikendo (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He has wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Su ...

team. Urita wrestled more famously under the name of Tiger Shark, and worked in promotions like

Battlarts , more commonly referred to as simply Battlarts was a professional wrestling promotion based in Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan. The promotion was formed in 1996 by Japanese wrestler Yuki Ishikawa and featured all of the wrestlers from the Fujiwara Gu ...

, Dradition Pro Wrestling,

Tenryu Project is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 2010. The Tenryu project is the successor to Tenryu's ...

and

Riki Choshu , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestle ...

's Legend The Pro Wrestling. Currently, he wrestles in Kazuki Okubo's Ganko Pro Wrestling and other independent promotions as Blue Shark.

Career

Early career

After several years training

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

, Urita joined mixed martial arts organization Kingdom Ehrgeiz, where he was put under Hidetada Irie. Later, he moved to Satoru Sayama's Seikendo promotion, and in 2003 he had his MMA debut, submitting David Davitashvili. Thanks to a work agreement between

and

Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...

, Urita went to compete in the latter, fighting

Keiichiro Yamamiya Keiichiro Yamamiya (born July 12, 1972) is a Japanese former professional mixed martial artist. A veteran of 89 fights who began his career in 1996 and last competed in 2015, he fought in the UFC, Pancrase, DEEP, and World Victory Road. He was th ...

and

Izuru Takeuchi Izuru Takeuchi is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight division. He is a veteran of both the Pancrase and Shooto organizations, and is the former Middleweight King of Pancrase. Outside of mixed martial arts, ...

to decision and knocking out

Riki Fukuda , is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, he has formerly competed for the UFC, EliteXC, DEEP, DREAM, K-1 (MMA), Shooto, and Pancrase. Mixed martial arts caree ...

. He also competed in a

seikendo (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask. He has wrestled under his real name as well as the names Sammy Lee, and masked Su ...

-rules MMA tournament in Sayama's Real Japan Pro Wrestling, winning the contest after three matches.

Real Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2013)

In 2005, Urita started doing professional wrestling for Real Japan Pro Wrestling. He received the gimmick of Tiger Shark, a masked character with heel mannerisms conceived as Super Tiger II's dark counterpart, in a similar way to the historical

Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...

and

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

. Tiger Shark wrestled under a blue mask with a

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

design, contrasting with Super Tiger's silver and purple Tiger Mask attire, and had his first match teaming up with Masao Orihara against him and

Hi69 is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hi69 (pronounced as Hiroki). He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Since debuting in 2000, Tanabe has frequently worked for Kaientai Dojo, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, Apache ...

. Tiger Shark and Super Tiger wrestled each other in tag team matches during the next events, with Urita often teaming up with Orihara. However, he ended settling down in a tag team with Black Shadow, a similar character played by Makoto "Max" Miyazawa. They feuded with a coalition composed by

Gran Hamada , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...

, Sammy Lee, Jr. and

Kendo Nagasaki Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis. The name derives from the modern martial art of Japanese fencing (Kendo) ...

, as well as

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

's Minoru. In 2010, Shark broke his alliance with Masao Orihara, wrestling in a match in which Urita was defeated. After seldom apparitions in RJPW, Tiger Shark teamed again with Black Shadow to win the vacant RJPW Tag Team Championship, defeating Yujiro Yamamoto and Yuki Ishikawa. However, they had no defenses of the title, and they spent the next years feuding with Orihara. He also had a high-level match against

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...

Tiger Mask IV is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for being the fourth man to portray . He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a former 6-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and 2-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team ...

, being beaten. In September 2013, Tiger Shark had his last apparition in RJPW, teaming up with

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...

to get a win over Super Tiger II and

Battlarts (2009–2011)

Tiger Shark started wrestling for

shoot-style Shoot wrestling is a combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

promotion

in 2009 as a RJPW representative. He participated in the B1 Climax 2009 Block A, facing star Yuki Ishikawa and Yuta Yoshikawa in losing efforts, though getting victories over

Keita Yano is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist currently working for Professional Wrestling Wallabee. He started his career with Battlarts in February 2007 and remained with the promotion for four years, winning the B-Rule Tournam ...

and Ryuji Walter. As a result, he did not qualify. He continued appearing in Battlarts, teaming up with his long time rival Super Tiger II in a special tag team to feud with Ishikawa, as well as Bison Tagai. In 2010, the team broke up and Shark went free, staying with the promotion until its demise in 2011.

Tenryu Project and Legend The Pro Wrestling (2010–2013)

Always working as a RJPW representative, Tiger Shark had his debut in

with his biggest career win, beating Dragon Gate top player

Masaaki Mochizuki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah. Mochizuki is a former FIP World Champion and three-time Open the Dream Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Early years A former karatek ...

to win the Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Championship. He retained it successfully against Hiroki, Dokuroman and

Hikaru Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five time ...

, until he dropped it to Hiroki in a rematch. Around that time, Tiger moved to

's Legend The Pro Wrestling, where he teamed with a variety of Tiger-related characters, among them Super Tiger II, Original Tiger Mask and Black Tiger V. He also wrestled alongside

Yoshiaki Fujiwara is a Japanese Professional Wrestler and trainer. He is famous for his long career in wrestling, having worked in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE (ZERO-ONE), and the two incarnations of shoot style promotion Universal Wr ...

. In 2013, Tiger Shark and his allies entered in a feud with

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

and his entourage, as part of the enmity between Onita and Original Tiger Mask from RJPW. Shark faced personally Onita's henchman Ichiro Yaguchi, with Urita coming victorious in a single match, his last apparition in the promotion.

Championships and accomplishments

*Pro Wrestling A-Team **

WEW World Tag Team Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and World Entertainment Wrestling and currently con ...

(1 time) – with Daisaku Shimoda * Real Japan Pro Wrestling **RJPW Tag Team Championship (1 time, inaugural, last) – with Black Shadow **RJPW vs. U-File Tournament (2012) *

** Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Independent circuit **Latin American Championship (1 time) **UWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Takahiro Tababa

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 14-12-2 (1) , Gennadiy Kovalev , KO (punch) , FEFoMP: International Modern Pankration Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:35 ,

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13-12-2 (1) , Gadji Zaipulaev , Decision (unanimous) , FEFoMP: Impact League 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Khabarovsk, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 12-12-2 (1) , Barry Guerin , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Square Jungle: Advent of Mr. MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11-12-2 (1) , Sharihyar Abbasov , TKO (doctor stoppage) , GCM: Cage Force 11 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:11 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10-12-2 (1) , Jerry Nelson , Decision (majority) , TF: Tenkaichi Fight 37 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Chatan,

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10-11-2 (1) ,

Ryuta Sakurai Ryuta Sakurai (born September 8, 1971) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division. A veteran who fought for many companies such as Shooto, Pancrase and PRIDE. Nicknamed Mr. DEEP, he is best known for ...

, Submission (armbar) , Deep: 37 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:22 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 10-10-2 (1) , Vladimir Yushko , Decision (unanimous) , FEFoMP: World Pankration Championship 2008 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Khabarovsk, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 10-9-2 (1) , Hoon Kim , TKO (punches) , MARS 11: 2nd Anniversary , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:41 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9-9-2 (1) ,

Yuya Shirai Yuya Shirai (born April 2, 1980) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Shirai has fought for ONE FC, DEEP, BAMMA, Glory World Series, M-1 Global, P ...

, Submission (armbar) , Deep: 31 Impact , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 9-8-2 (1) , Ichiro Kanai , TKO (punches) , Pancrase: Rising 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:50 ,

, Japan , , - , N/C , align=center, 9-7-2 (1) , Hoon Kim , No contest (accidental low blow) , MARS 7: Tornado Returns , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 9-7-2 , Alavutdin Gadjiev , Decision (unanimous) , FEFoMP: Asian Pankration Championship 2006 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Khabarovsk, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 9-6-2 , Rikuhei Fujii , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: Blow 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8-6-2 , Marcelo Brito , Submission (rear naked choke) , MARS 4: New Deal , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:44 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 8-5-2 , Hidemi Mihara , Decision (unanimous) , MARS: MARS Attack 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 8-4-2 , Ken Ogawa , TKO (corner stoppage) , MARS: MARS Attack 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 7-4-2 , Arman Gambaryan , Decision (unanimous) , FEFoMP: World Pankration Championship 2006 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:00 , Khabarovsk, Russia , , - , Draw , align=center, 7-3-2 , Yuichi Nakanishi , Draw , Pancrase: Blow 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7-3-1 ,

, KO (punch) , Pancrase: Blow 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6-3-1 , Yuta Nakamura , Decision (unanimous) , RJPW: Legend Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 5-3-1 , Toshihiro Hosoe , Submission (armbar) , RJPW: Legend Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 4-3-1 , Motohiro Tachihara , Submission (armbar) , RJPW: Legend Championship , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 3-3-1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: Spiral 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 3-2-1 , Moriyuki Yamada , Submission (guillotine choke) , Pancrase: 2005 Neo-Blood Tournament Finals , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:37 ,

, Japan , , - , Draw , align=center, 2-2-1 , Yuta Nakamura , Draw , RJPW: Roman Martial Arts 2005 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sendai, Miyagi is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 2-2 , Valery Pliev , Decision (unanimous) , FEFoMP: Mayor Cup 2005 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Khabarovsk, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 2-1 , Jin O Kim , Decision (unanimous) , Gladiator FC: Day 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, South Korea , , - , Loss , align=center, 1-1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: Brave 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , David Davitashvili , Submission (guillotine choke) , Seikendo: Dream Challenge , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:18 ,

, Japan ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Urita, Kozo 1974 births Living people Japanese male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Japanese male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers People from Yokohama 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Champions WEW World Tag Team Champions